Don Meredith, NFL star and an original member of ABC’s Monday Night Football broadcast team died Sunday in Santa Fe, N.M., after suffering a brain hemorrhage.
Stu Olds, president-CEO of radio-ad-sales firm Katz Media Group, passed away Saturday from complications due to myelodysplastic syndrome, or MDS, a type of leukemia. He oversaw ad-sales representation for more than 3,000 radio stations (roughly 90% of the national radio inventory) and 400 TV stations as part of a restructuring with parent company Clear Channel’s sales teams.
Alfred “Al” Masini, the producer who created a number of hit shows including Entertainment Tonight, Star Search, Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous and Solid Gold, has died in Honolulu.
Exclusives
LOS ANGELES (AP) — When George Lucas needed someone to direct the sequel to “Star Wars,” he turned to veteran filmmaker Irvin Kershner. Under Kershner’s direction, Luke Skywalker learned that […]
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Despite decades spent playing sober commanders and serious captains, Leslie Nielsen insisted that he was always made for comedy. He proved it in his career’s second […]
Television pioneer Jean Hill Byrd, died Nov. 22 in Shreveport, La. She was 82. Born July 15, 1928, Byrd retired from NBC affiliate KTAL Shreveport where she was employed for […]
Another Sign Of The Times: Entrepreneurship
Here’s a tale of two broadcasters, undeterred by the economic doldrums, who started new broadcasting-support businesses. Ex-KXASer Larry Watzman created Revnew, which offers stations inexpensive, turnkey promotional campaigns that come complete with slick videos. Linda Wellman, who says she came up with the idea of online/on-air obits as an account executive at WNEM Flint, has gone off to market her own service, DirectObits.tv. “My goal is 70 stations by 2012,” she says.
Obits: A New Revenue Stream To Die For
A number of companies are trying to take what has long been the local newspaper’s franchise — death notices — and move them to TV, both on air and online. They all depend on partnering with funeral homes that sell the product and input information that is delivered directly to station websites.
